A few weeks later, the Boston Blackhawks were scheduled to meet up with the British Columbia Backstabbers again...

"I bet BC is going to lose again today," Jeremy boasted to Brampton, smirking as they sat on their benched in their stalls in the locker room. He pulled on one of his skates and expertly did the laces, tying them tightly.

Brampton laughed. "And why is that? Is it because we're ridiculously awesome?"

Jeremy nodded as he pulled on his other skate. "Well, that, and the fact that BC sounds like douche, in a way. BC...douche. Hear the similarity?"

"Uh...no."

"Cause BC stands British Columbia...and also for Boston College and Boston College is full of douches!"

"Wow, don't let Marchy hear you," Brampton responded.

"Too late!" Tyler Marchand remarked, coming over. "I can hear Jeremy's loud voice from across the room even when it's noisy. I was once an Eagle you know, Segs. So does that mean I am a douche?"

"Uh, no. I just meant more so...the academic scholars there..." Jeremy pointed out, covering his behind.

"You have a point," Tyler and Brampton spoke in unison.

"Don't I always?" Jeremy boasted, raising his head up high.

Tyler shrugged, shook his head and walked off, leaving them alone to talk. Brampton shook his head. "No, actually, you rarely have a point." He scooted away from Jeremy to avoid the punch that he was sure was to come and, sure enough, he swung at him but only got empty air.

"Maybe you should be on BC, douchebag," Jeremy chuckled, standing up and only wobbling slightly on his skates. "You'd fit in perfectly." Despite the comment, he still held out a hand to help Brampton to his feet.

"You're more of a douchebag than I am, buddy ol' pal," Brampton retorted as they hobbled out of the locker room.

Jeremy grabbed his shoulder, turning him around. "How so?"

"You got a mustang for Christmas, Seggy."

"So?" Jeremy sighed. "That doesn't make me a douchebag!"

His shy friend laughed at him. "But it actually does."

Jeremy glared at him. "Go die, Brandy."

Brampton only laughed again. "You don't mean that, Seggy. We both know you loooove me!"

"And I'm beginning to rethink that," Jeremy muttered. "But you are my liney...Now shut up, the game's starting."

Jeremy's call for the game starting was too early, for both teams had only just arrived on the ice for the pre-game warm-ups. It was the whole crew, including: Nikita Nichushkin, Brampton Benn, Jeremy Sagan, Percival Kane, Jonathan Getzlaf, Tyler Marchand, Crow, Zady, Nesty, Scooby and the rest of the player. They all worked well together on the ice and usually managed to score so high that their coach let some of the younger, less experienced players join the game.

It was impossible not to say that the Boston Blackhawks were one of the—if not THE most powerful team in the NHL at the moment. They were on fire and their goal total was breaking records thanks to the two rookies.

Heck, analysts joked that they could match up with the famous and powerful Team Canada in the Olympics and beat them.

Today was no different. The Blackhawk boys felt cocky as they entered the game. British Columbia's rivalry had always been a nail biter and a good one and it was becoming even more so with the talent the Blackhawks possessed and had. Although the number of wins were usually split evenly between the two teams, this year Boston had won every single game they played.

So far.

And naturally...the BC players weren't too happy with that. Even more so by the time the game was halfway through.

Crow, Percy and even Tyler had a way of secretly flaunting to the Backstabbers' goons that they were ahead, when the referees weren't looking. Most of the plays that involved violence were usually when the Backstabbers' players, like Israel would attack them or target the three boys of the second line to get revenge.

It was all on the border, but never crossed. Not yet at least. And everything was legal and carefully watched by the refs on the ice.

Percy had always loved the rush of a hockey game. Before his father had died, he and his sisters would do absolutely everything hockey-related together. And he'd end up repaying them by playing with barbies or dolls like a good brother. After all it was only fair and Percy liked to be fair and to play fair.

Percy's dad used to play centre for his high school hockey team before a career-ending knee injury destroyed his chances of ever playing in the NHL. This was the main reason why Percy loved hockey so much; he wanted to make his dad proud when he played it, even if his dad wasn't alive anymore to see him play it.

Perhaps, somewhere, he was still watching though, looking down on his son and marveling at his raw skill and talent.

He was skating down the ice, like playing hockey was something that he was born to do, and maybe it was. The puck was in his control, and Percy knew that any second a BC player might slam into him and he'd lose that control. But he had a smart hockey IQ in him and he knew what to do. He wasn't terrified of getting hit. Both Jonathan and Tyler were open, but a BC player moved to heavily guard Tyler and so Percy placed his faith in Jonathan.

Almost immediately after Percy passed the puck to his older friend the captain, he and Tyler were slammed into at the same time. The BC player guarding Tyler tripped him up, causing the tall blond boy to go crashing into the ice. He landed face first onto the ice, and Percy was almost sure that his linemate must have broken something in his face.

"TYLER!!" Percy screamed out, more worried than he though he originally was.

The player who crashed into him seemed to come out of nowhere and was also a familiar foe, slamming into his left side and pushing him all the way to the boards. They crash into the structure, and Percy's arm took most of the blow while his head smacked into the hard material. If he wasn't wearing a helmet, he was sure his head would have cracked open.

Although he was wearing the protective head gear, his ears still rang and his head pounded after he recovered from the blow. He heard the referees blow their whistles and the two BC players who attacked them were sentenced to the penalty box for boarding and tripping. Percy didn't see Crow anywhere on the bench, but Jonathan and Zady were helping Tyler to his feet.

To Percy's relief, Tyler didn't seem too hurt. The coach called the boys in for a team huddle. Percy didn't know if Jonathan ended up scoring or why the coach was calling them in. But he skated towards his team's leader anyway, not caring why he was being called in.

Coach Kucherov looked at all of his players before noticing that Crow was nowhere to be found. Instead of asking Tyler and Percy if they were okay like he was about to, his eyes scanned the ice in search of the pest.

Percy heard Coach Kucherov screaming his friend's name until the ringing in his ears was all he could register. The pounding in his head had increased, and he saw the world sway before him. Percy could only watch the worried faces of his teammates as he lost his footing and slumped forward, falling into someone's arms just as the world went black.

Israel flicked his hand, glowering wickedly before he was jumped on from behind by Crow. Crow pulled him down to the ice and the two rolled around in a furious pile of snarling players. Soon the refs stepped in and pulled them apart.

"He fucking hurt Percy!" Crow snapped.

"He fucking deserved it! That weak little bitch!" Israel taunted, fighting the ref.

"You're a fucking asshole Is!" Crow roared before he was shoved into the bench and down the tunnel. He threw his stick down in anger and stomped toward the locker room, followed by the brave soul of one of the trainers on hand.

Meanwhile Percy was slumped unconscious in Jonathan's arms. He carefully set Percy on the ice and checked his pulse. It was barely a pulse at all. He looked up, fearfully. "He needs medical attention!" He spun back and took Percy's helmet off. "Stay with me Percy...come on Kaner!"

Jeremy, Brampton, Tyler, Nikita and Scooby gathered around the fallen player, concerned. Jeremy slowly bent down and touched Percy's forehead, before he instantly drew back and broke into tears. Brampton patted him and comforted him.

Percy had never liked being in the hospital. The place surely wasn't unfamiliar to him. And being a hockey player, and apart of a closely knit team, one of them or one of their teammates often wound up in the hospital due to a concussion or a particularly brutal injury caused by the rough sport. Turned out, it was Percival Kane to fall first.

Thanks to the bastard Backstabber, Israel Wassmuth.

But it was different this time. Every other circumstance that brought him to the hospital hadn't been life-threatening. And now...Percy was a good man and everyone's best friend. And Percy could die. And the team, particularly Jonathan and Jeremy, weren't okay with that.

The waiting room felt much too cold to the players. Jeremy was snuggled into Brampton, who was comforting him, while Jonathan just blinked and stared into space. Scooby, Nikita, Crow, and Tyler remained conversing together.

They felt out of place in the white room, surrounded by nervous fathers-to-be and one crying elderly woman. They were still in their hockey uniforms, including Crow, who hadn't bothered to change. Their jerseys bared their Blackhawks' team colors of red, white and black on them. The only thing they did before rushing to the hospital was trade their skates for sneakers.

The pest had seriously changed and matured. He knew when to goof off and when to be serious and he cared about his teammates, even if he loved to harass them. And everyone knew that Crow was warming up to the rookie, especially Percy. Crow loved Percy like a brother.

Jeremy was shaking. He had never been one to like hospitals either. On his fifteenth birthday, his grandmother died. While his entire family was sad, Jeremy's mother had taken it the hardest. She had always been close to her own mother and after her death, it was almost as if his mother lost the will to live. Two months later, on a cold day in January, she was diagnosed with catatonic schizophrenia. Jeremy knew now that somewhere in the mental ward of the very hospital he was in, his mother was staring blankly at a wall. Being at the hospital for someone else he loved made Jeremy shake even harder.

Tyler Marchand didn't even realize that he was soon crying too. No one in his family had ever died before or even contracted any deadly illness. The Marchands were very healthy people. Tyler had only ever been in a hospital for the birth of his little sisters and the time that he visited Patrick Cleary, his closest friend in Nova Scotia, when the boy broke two of his ribs from a particularly bad check. Percy was one of Tyler's new closest friends apart from Jonny and Jeremy now. Being on the same line as him. He was really the person that Tyler was looking up to...scoring wise, who always had the answers for girl trouble or clubs...or where to party in Boston when he needed a party. Tyler couldn't imagine a life without Percival Kane.

No of the team could.

It had always been Crow's dream to become a doctor, and right now he wished that dream was a reality. If Crow was a doctor, maybe he would already know what was wrong with Percy. But he didn't. Crow was on the waiting side of the spectrum and he absolutely hated that. He knew that Percy had to go through surgery and he knew that his family was with him right now, but that was all Crow knew. He wished he knew what was wrong with the blond winger in the first place and if his friend would make it to see tomorrow. A part of Crow was actually terrified that Percy would die and he'd never be able to talk to his teammate and friend again.

The scene of Percy losing unconsciousness after being clocked over the head by the wicked, ill-tempered bastard son Israel Wassmuth and falling into Jonathan's arms was burned into the back of all of their minds. Because Crow, Nesty and Zady were too busy going after the players who attacked Tyler and Percy in the first place, the two defenseman didn't see the horrifying image and didn't have to deal with it. They didn't even know if Percy was okay.

It was nerve-wracking, waiting and waiting, no matter if the outcome was good or bad. And for the team, it was hard to be optimistic when one of their best friends might be fighting for his life at the moment.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait too much longer. Only a few minutes passed and then Mrs. Kane walked towards them, tears in her eyes and clutching a tired and crying trio of daughters at her side. But there was something that the boys noticed about their demeanor; it was happy and hopeful, almost relieved...not sad.

Percy's mother approached them and they all stood up, looking at her with hopeful expressions.

"Well?" Jonathan asked, breaking the silence. "Is he okay? What happened?"

Mrs. Kane hugged her daughters closer to her side. "We all know that I'm no good at understanding medical speak, but from what I understand, Percy has a slight concussion. His doctor said it will be a matter of time before can return to the ice. But he is expected to make a full recovery."

"Is he okay?" Jeremy asked rather desperately. Despite the fact that Mrs. Kane and her daughters, Percy's sisters didn't look like they were drowning in grief, he still had to know. Percy might be a vegetable for all he knew.

"The doctors performed some kind of surgery that I couldn't understand," She said to them. "But they say things are looking good. His doctor said he might wake up soon. God knows I want to stay, but I think the girls and I need some sleep." She gestured towards the three girls at her sides. "I also knew that you boys are dying to see him. Room 814, take a left and keep walking. You'll see it on your right towards the end."

The boys smiled at her as best as they could manage and all jumped to their feet in unison.

"Thank you, Mrs. Kane," Brampton said, pausing to give her a hug. Each of the boys followed his example and hugged the woman before them. Then they all bid her farewell.

Crow leads the way as they follow Percy's mother's directions, taking a left from where they were and practically bounding down the hallway to get to room 814. They pass what seemed like hundreds of rooms until they finally reached 814, the closed door being the only thing keeping them from seeing their best friend.

It was Jeremy who took the initiative to actually open the door, passing a bathroom on his left before finding a small hospital room. Jonathan, Brampton, Crow and Nikita were right behind him and while they were all excited about seeing Percy, happy that he was alive and going to make it, none of them could have prepared for what they were about to see.